Nanci Ross has conducted research around the world in the areas of ethnobotany, ethnobiology, and biogeography. She has worked with Mayan bush doctors in Belize and Guatemala on the impact of agroforesty, and researched traditional Tibetan medicinal plants and the impact of climate change in the Himalayas. She has a special interest in international foods and chocolate and teaches a course called Food Ways. Ross is a member of the board of the Society of Economic Botany.